The assassination of Julius Caesar is one of the most notorious murders in history. Even now, many questions remain about his death: Was Brutus the hero and Caesar the villain? Was Mark Antony aware of the plot? Using historical evidence to sort out these and other puzzling issues, historian and award-winning author Stephen Dando-Collins recaptures the drama of Caesar's demise and the chaotic aftermath as the vicious struggle unfolded for power between Antony and Octavian.

Cleopatra's Kidnappers: How Caesar's Sixth Legion Gave Egypt to Rome and Rome to Caesar

Julius Caesar was nothing if not bold. When, in the wake of his defeat of Pompey at Pharsalus his victorious legions refused to march another step under his command, he pursued his fleeing rival into Egypt with an impossibly small force of Gallic and German cavalry, raw Italian recruits, and nine hundred Spanish prisoners of war - tough veterans of Pompey's Sixth Legion. Cleopatra's Kidnappers tells the epic saga of Caesar's adventures in Egypt through the eyes of these captured, but never defeated, legionaries.

Caesar's Legion: The Epic Saga of Julius Caesar's Elite Tenth Legion and the Armies of Rome

Stephen Dando-Collins paints a vivid and definitive portrait of daily life in the Tenth Legion as he follows Caesar and his men along the blood-soaked fringes of the Empire. This unprecedented regimental history reveals countless previously unknown details about Roman military practices, Caesar's conduct as a commander and his relationships with officers and legionnaires, and the daily routine and discipline of the Legion.

The 14th Gemina Martia Victrix Legion was the most celebrated unit of the early Roman Empire - a force that had been wiped out under Julius Caesar, reformed, and almost wiped out again. After participating in the a.d. 43 invasion of Britain, the 14th Legion achieved its greatest glory when it put down the famous rebellion of the Britons under Boudicca.

Marching with Caesar: Birth of the 10th Legion

Titus Pullus, the hero of the 10th Legion and the Marching With Caesar series, tells his story from the very beginning of his life, starting with his relationship with his father, how his friendship with Vibius Domitius began, and how their burning ambition to join the Legions was helped by a veteran nicknamed Cyclops. Enlisting in the 10th Legion, raised in 61 B.C. by Gaius Julius Caesar, Birth of the 10th Legion recounts the first campaign ever conducted by Julius Caesar as a commander...

Blood of the Caesars: How the Murder of Germanicus Led to the Fall of Rome

Could the killing of Germanicus Julius Caesar - the grandson of Mark Antony, adopted son of the emperor Tiberius, father of Caligula, and grandfather of Nero - while the Roman Empire was still in its infancy have been the root cause of the empire's collapse more than four centuries later? This brilliant investigation of Germanicus Caesar’s death and its aftermath is both a compelling history and first-class murder mystery with a plot twist Agatha Christie would envy.

The Great Fire of Rome: The Fall of the Emperor Nero and His City

In A.D. 64, on the night of July 19, a fire began beneath the stands of Rome’s great stadium, the Circus Maximus. The fire would spread over the coming days to engulf much of the city of Rome. From this calamity, one of the ancient world’s most devastating events, legends grew: that Nero had been responsible for the fire, and fiddled while Rome burned, and that Nero blamed the Christians of Rome, burning them alive in punishment, making them the first recorded martyrs to the Christian faith at Rome.

Augustus: First Emperor of Rome

Caesar Augustus's story, one of the most riveting in western history, is filled with drama and contradiction, risky gambles and unexpected success. He began as a teenage warlord, whose only claim to power was as the heir of the murdered Julius Caesar. Mark Antony dubbed him "a boy who owes everything to a name," but in the years to come the youth outmaneuvered all the older and more experienced politicians and was the last man standing in 30 BC.

Mark Antony's Heroes: How the Third Gallica Legion Saved an Apostle and Created an Emperor

This fourth book in Dando-Collins’ definitive history of Rome’s legions tells the story of Rome’s 3rd Gallica Legion, which put Vespasian on the throne and saved the life of the Christian apostle Paul. Named for their leader, Mark Antony, these common Roman soldiers, through their gallantry on the battlefield, reshaped the Roman Empire and aided the spread of Christianity throughout Europe.

The Death of Caesar: The Story of History's Most Famous Assassination

William Shakespeare's gripping play showed Caesar's assassination to be an amateur and idealistic affair. The real killing, however, was a carefully planned paramilitary operation, a generals' plot put together by Caesar's disaffected officers and designed with precision. Brutus and Cassius were indeed key players, but they had the help of a third man - Decimus. He was the mole in Caesar's entourage, one of Caesar's leading generals, and a lifelong friend.

Caesar: Life of a Colossus

Tracing the extraordinary trajectory of Julius Caesar's life, Adrian Goldsworthy covers not only the great Roman emperor's accomplishments as charismatic orator, conquering general, and powerful dictator but also lesser-known chapters. Ultimately, Goldsworthy realizes the full complexity of Caesar's character and shows why his political and military leadership continues to resonate some 2,000 years later.

Antony & Cleopatra

In this remarkable dual biography of the two great lovers of the ancient world, Adrian Goldsworthy goes beyond myth and romance to create a nuanced and historically acute portrayal of his subjects, set against the political backdrop of their time. A history of lives lived intensely at a time when the world was changing profoundly, this audiobook takes listeners on a journey that crosses cultures and boundaries, from ancient Greece and ancient Egypt to the Roman Empire.

By the Spear: Philip II, Alexander the Great, and the Rise and Fall of the Macedonian Empire

For the first time, By the Spear offers an exhilarating military narrative of the reigns of these two larger-than-life figures in one volume. Ian Worthington gives full breadth to the careers of father and son, showing how Philip was the architect of the Macedonian empire, which reached its zenith under Alexander, only to disintegrate upon his death.

The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome’s Deadliest Enemy

A National Book Award finalist for this epic work, Adrienne Mayor delivers a gripping account of Mithradates, the ruthless visionary who began to challenge Rome’s power in 120 B.C. Machiavelli praised his military genius. Kings coveted his secret elixir against poison. Poets celebrated his victories, intrigues, and panache. But until now, no one has told the full story of his incredible life.

Hannibal: A History of the Art of War among the Carthaginians and Romans Down to the Battle of Pydna, 168 BC, with a Detailed Account of the Second Punic War

Hannibal is often considered the finest general the world has ever known. Setting out from Carthaginian-dominated Spain with a small army of select troops, he fought his way over the Pyrenees and crossed the Alps with elephants and a full baggage train. Descending into Italy, he destroyed the main Roman army at Lake Trasimeno and came close to conquering Rome itself.

Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician

In this dynamic and engaging biography, Anthony Everitt plunges us into the fascinating, scandal-ridden world of ancient Rome in its most glorious heyday. Accessible to us through his legendary speeches but also through an unrivaled collection of unguarded letters to his close friend Atticus, Cicero comes to life here as a witty and cunning political operator.

Augustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor

Caesar Augustus has been called history's greatest emperor. It was said he found Rome made of clay and left it made of marble. With a senator for a father and Julius Caesar for a great-uncle, he ascended the ranks of Roman society with breathtaking speed. His courage in battle is still questioned yet his political savvy was second to none. He had a lifelong rival in Mark Antony and a 51-year companion in his wife, Livia. And his influence extended perhaps further than that of any ruler who has ever lived.

Soldier of Rome: The Legionary Book One of the Artorian Chronicles

In the year A.D. 9, three Roman Legions under Quintilius Varus were betrayed by the Germanic war chief, Arminius, and destroyed in the forest known as Teutoburger Wald. Six years later Rome is finally ready to unleash her vengeance on the barbarians. The Emperor Tiberius has sent his adopted son, Germanicus Caesar, into Germania with an army of forty-thousand legionaries. The come not on a mission of conquest, but one of annihilation. With them is a young legionary named Artorius.

The Rise of Rome: The Making of the World's Greatest Empire

Emerging as a market town from a cluster of hill villages in the eighth and seventh centuries B.C., Rome grew to become the ancient world's preeminent power. Everitt fashions the story of Rome's rise to glory into an erudite book filled with lasting lessons for our time. He chronicles the clash between patricians and plebeians that defined the politics of the Republic. He shows how Rome's shrewd strategy of offering citizenship to her defeated subjects was instrumental in expanding the reach of her burgeoning empire.

Mike From Mesa says:"Rome from the fall of Troy through Julius Caesar"

Rubicon: The Triumph and Tragedy of the Roman Republic

The Roman Republic was the most remarkable state in history. What began as a small community of peasants camped among marshes and hills ended up ruling the known world. Rubicon paints a vivid portrait of the Republic at the climax of its greatness - the same greatness which would herald the catastrophe of its fall. It is a story of incomparable drama.

Alexander the Great: Journey to the End of the Earth

In this succinct portrait of Alexander the Great, distinguished scholar and historian Norman Cantor draws on the major writings of Alexander's contemporaries, as well as the most recent psychological and cultural studies to illuminate this most legendary of men - a great figure in the ancient world whose puzzling personality greatly fueled his military accomplishments.

The Great Debate: Edmund Burke, Thomas Paine, and the Birth of Right and Left

In The Great Debate, Yuval Levin explores the origins of the Left-Right divide by examining the views of the men who best represented each side of that debate at its outset: Edmund Burke and Thomas Paine. In a groundbreaking exploration of the roots of our political order, Levin shows that American partisanship originated in the debates over the French Revolution, fueled by the fiery rhetoric of these ideological titans.

The Fall of the Roman Empire: A New History of Rome and the Barbarians

The death of the Roman Empire is one of the perennial mysteries of world history. Now, in this groundbreaking book, Peter Heather proposes a stunning new solution: Centuries of imperialism turned the neighbors Rome called barbarians into an enemy capable of dismantling an Empire that had dominated their lives for so long. A leading authority on the late Roman Empire and on the barbarians, Heather relates the extraordinary story of how Europe's barbarians, transformed by centuries of contact with Rome on every possible level, eventually pulled the empire apart.

Hero of Rome

The Roman grip on Britain is weakening. Emperor Nero has turned his face away from this far-flung outpost. The Druids are on the rise, spreading seeds of rebellion among the British tribes. Roman cruelty and exploitation has angered their British subjects. The warrior queen Boudicca will lead the tribes to war. Standing against the rising tide of Boudicca's rebellion is Roman Tribune, Gaius Valerius Verrens, Commander of the veteran legions at Colonia.

Publisher's Summary

The assassination of Julius Caesar is one of the most notorious murders in history. Even now, many questions remain about his death: Was Brutus the hero and Caesar the villain? Was Mark Antony aware of the plot? Using historical evidence to sort out these and other puzzling issues, historian and award-winning author Stephen Dando-Collins recaptures the drama of Caesar's demise and the chaotic aftermath as the vicious struggle unfolded for power between Antony and Octavian.

For the first time, he shows how the religious festivals and customs of the day impacted how the assassination plot unfolded and how the murder was almost avoided at the last moment. A compelling history packed with intrigue and written with the pacing of a first-rate mystery, The Ides will challenge what we think we know about Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire.

I stopped reading about a third of the way in when the nonsense just brought me over the limit. At one point the author claims that Caesar was a soldier at heart who would have been bored by subtle political maneuvering, which is the most mind-bogglingly absurd statement I've ever heard a biographer make about Caesar. Caesar was a politician first and foremost! He had climbed to the very top of Rome's political ladder long before he ever became a general. Even his whole military career was one big ploy to outmaneuver his political enemies, that wanted him arrested and executed for daring to institute land reforms. Since governors of provinces were immune to prosecution, Caesar could prevent his arrest as long as he was governor of Gaul. Governorships were normally limited to a single year, but it would be difficult to deny an extension for a governor who was currently engaged in massively successful war of conquest...

The book is rife with these sorts of things, as well as key pieces of context that the author fails to mention altogether. Don't take my word of it. Look up the reviews for the text version on Amazon and you'll see a chorus of others pointing out all the inaccuracies.

This title came to my attention while listening to the excellent podcast, "The History of Rome." This is a fine & concise primer that gives the listener an overview of the issues & men surrounding Caesar's assasination. It is rich in facts & tidbits and I learned much that I hadn't heard or read before. The author spends a lot of time leading his listeners to that fateful day in March, but then seems to rush a bit towards the end as he reports on the fate of the participants in the murder. After listening to this book I suggest you then download, "Augustus: The Life of the First Emperor."

Stephen Dando-Collins is a Australian writer of history. He has written on vast periods and subjects that had presented it in history. In "The Idea: Caesar's Murder and the War for Rome" he congested and popularised the murder of Julius Caesar by re-examining and presenting this notorious incident to the layman.

If you are a Shakespeare fan or you have a classical background you might not find much that is new from what you already know. You will however find accent changes and a more realistic portrayal of the day that Caesar was stabbed to death by members of the Roman Senate under Brutus and Cassius.

Dando-Collins claims (of seem to) make critical use of his sources which include Suetonius, Dio Cassus, Cicero and some other material. While he makes use of the original sources, I got a feeling that he was not always as critical and evaluating of the evidence presented in the sources. For example, when Gaius Iulius Caesar's wife dreams that he will die and when an augur reads and omen of death in the entrails of a bird, he takes it as facts. In my humble opinion the ancient Roman historians used just as much literary devices to tell a good story of which timely dreams and predictions are just two to mention. Dando-Collins seems not even to consider this. Yet het uses the earliest sources available and he is very critical when the sources do not agree with each other.

You as the listener might find it interesting how Dando-Collins describes the web of intrigue that surrounded Caesar's death. He also comes up with some very interesting facts and gives a colourful picture of the Ides of March, the day Caesar died.

Bronson Pinchot read the book fairly but at times he really presented the content as just downright boring. While you will be able to listen through the book, I would lie if I don't say that I was disappointed in the narration the the book. It could've had a negative impact on the way I interpreted Dando-Collins' story of the turning point in Roman history. His heavily accented quasi-Latin pronunciation of Latin words and phrases (although very few), really hindered.

Yet the book is worth a listen to anyone who wants to know more about the events that led up to Caesar's assassination and what expired thereafter. It has a thorough perspective though a lot is already known. I comes recommended for those with an interest in ancient Roman history.

Week-by-week and sometimes even day-by-day account of the events leading up to the assassination of Julius Caesar; and the sad, violent unwinding of its aftermath. It's a gripping story, perfect background for either Shakespeare's "Julius Caesar" or the HBO series "Rome." Being mostly familiar with the story from Shakespeare's standpoint, I was surprised at how much of the aftermath the play left out: it jumps almost immediately from the assassination to the cynical plotting of the second triumvirate and the war with Brutus and Cassius. In fact it took months of politicking for this to play itself out. Read with enthusiasm and clarity by Bronson Pinchot. I liked it a lot. What I really want now is more info on the FIRST triumvirate.

One of the greatest stories in history is accounted by Mr Dando-Collins. He takes the reader through the twists and turns of politics and of Roman life during the time of Caesar.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Ides?

It's impossible to select just one part over another. The end of each chapter had an ominous statement that enticed me to read on.

Have you listened to any of Bronson Pinchot’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, this is my first. But I rather enjoyed it.

Any additional comments?

My education into history goes no further than anyone's who did not choose this course of study as a major or minor in college. Mine is just a laypersons review. I enjoyed the book a great deal. As for it's accuracy and appeal to historians or those better educated than me, I cannot say. I do think that it's style would appeal to all. Especially those who, like me, enjoy the authors style of leading the reader as if by hand through the scenes he creates.

Like any book by Stephen Dando-Collins, definitely one to recommend. Excellent narration of a book filled with that combination of detail and broad insight that I look for a work of historial non-fiction. Really brought that turbulent period to life. Very satisfying.

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